PAN Communications prSPEAK

Filed under “We Saw This Coming.”  The future of journalism is social, says a new research report conducted by the Society for New Communications Research Symposim (SNCR).  A sneak peek of the final study results (to be released in the spring of 2009) analyzed the effects of social media on journalism and revealed what most of us in PR have known for a while: Millennial journalists won’t leave their facebook pages at the door when they come to work.

In fact, not only won’t they leave their facebook pages alone during work, young journalists are likely to be using facebook for work.  Fully 100 percent of the Millennial respondents to the SNCR’s survey showed they believe “new media and communications tools are enhancing journalism, vs. 40 percent in the 50-64 year old demographic.”   While this disparity isn’t surprising, it is interesting to note respondents were likely trained by the latter group both in college and in the early years of their profession.

If we thought PR has had difficulty adapting to social media, just imagine the chaos today’s in editorial departments.  On the one hand, social media is not-so-slowly strangling the mainstream media’s lifeblood.  On the other, young journalists are cozying up to social media to help them do their jobs.

Key findings of the study include:

* 100% of Millennial respondents (i.e., 18-29 year-olds) believe new media and communications tools are enhancing journalism, versus 40% in the 50-64 demographic

* 87% of 18-29 year-olds believe bloggers have become important opinion-shapers, versus 60% of 50-64 year-olds

* 87% of 18-29 year-olds confirm that new media and communications enhances the relationship with their audience, versus 42% of 50-64 year-olds

Key findings among all journalists:

* 48% of all respondents use LinkedIn, and 45% use Facebook to assist in reporting
* 68% of all respondents use blogs to keep up on issues or topics of interest
* 86% of all respondents use company websites, 71% use Wikipedia, and 46% use blogs to research an individual organization.

So it’s not a leap to understand why millennials are turning to social media to help them do their jobs, these tools foster a deeper level of interaction while at the same time broadening one’s reach.  Just as in PR, relationships count for journalists.  Why wouldn’t it make sense for a reporter to directly connect with a source via facebook or LinkedIn?

The challenge on the PR side is for millennials keep up with their journalist peers.  Not long ago I addressed part of this issue and got a great response from Megan Maguire, a millennial working for the Medical Records Institute (link down at the time of this post) here in Boston.    Her point: “older” <ahem> PR professionals have to show the millennials it’s okay to bring their leisure time experience with social media into the workplace.

Where millennials might not have been comfortable doing that before because they thought social media was perceived by management as “toys,” I’m sure I’m not the first to say that’s not the case now (if it ever was).  Young journalists inevitably grow up to be older journalists, and they’re not giving up their social media.  The SNCR’s report underlines the fact that both younger and older PR professionals have to embrace Twitter, facebook, Linked In, blogging, etc. to stay relevant.  If not for yourself, then do it for the kids.

- Joel

So you’re going out tonight, and you’re bringing the digital camera with you! All those great pics of you and your friends havin’ fun at the bar, and plus it’s your birthday, so you’re wearin’ a crown and a sexy top. Great!

The next day you upload all the details of the night to your Facebook page, tag every one of your friends that joined you in the midnight shot of Cuervo, and blog about the ridiculous antics you all got up to. So much fun to share your life online! Right?

Of course it is, and Facebook isn’t the only venue. Blogs, MySpace, Twitter, Flikr, Friendster, Bebo, Gather, imeem, LinkedIn, Jaiku, Meetup, ok you get the point. There are hundreds more. The question is, as we grow more and more comfortable sharing our daily details online, how do we know where the line is when it comes to what is appropriate, and more importantly, what is NOT, when it comes to putting content online?

Maybe we should ask Mark Jen, Ellen Simonetti, or Mike Hanscom. Each was fired for blogging, and they weren’t even maliciously sharing inside information about their companies. In fact, all three were surprised that their company took issue with what they had written online, they were just sharing anecdotes, posting pictures of friends and having a conversation online, but in each case, what they had revealed in the course of blogging was ultimately considered inappropriate for a representative of the company to be talking about online.

Think it’s just blogs? What about that profile picture on Facebook? Or the wall post your friend wrote you? Just ask Charlie Barrow or Zach Good. Your boss might not be your friend, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know someone who is, so assume that everything you put on any social site can be found by anyone, regardless of your privacy settings. With 63 million active users, odds are one of them has a connection to your employer!

So now you have a clean Facebook profile, but seriously, you can’t control what your friends do! No one would ever hold you responsible for who you are friends with, right? Wrong. Just ask Officer John Nohejl, who is under investigation because one of his friends on MySpace has a link on his or her page to a porn Web site.

The moral? What you put online is not just a fun way to share with friends and family, it’s a reflection on you, your company, your family, your friends, your school and any other organization you belong to. In addition, even if you think you’re blogging anonymously, you will probably eventually be found out. (Fake Steve Jobs, for example). Keep this in mind when writing and posting! Follow guidelines for online interaction. And speaking from experience, never doubt how fast what you thought was an innocuous post can be spread to hundreds of people and create unintended waves in your personal and business life. The world of online interaction continues to expand, just be careful how you play in it!

Last night, while enjoying a “cold one” at Haverhill’s local brewpub, The Tap, I came across a great article on beer bloggers in the popular publication, Beer Advocate.

Seems that breweries are figuring out that these hop-head aficionados have a loyal online audience and are an important part of the marketing mix!

Check out these popular brew blogs or start your own and see if the samples start rolling in!

A Good Beer Blog
The Brewsite
Hale the Ale

P.S. My favorite brews are the Belgian ales! Yours????

I thought I would be among the first to look into the crystal ball for 2007. Here’s what I think will be the dominant trends for 07 in the media. Faith Popcorn, I am not.

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